Article conveyer



Dec. 3, 1946. .1. H; FRIDEN ARTICLE CONVEYER Original Filed Aug. 2, 1940 3 sheets-sheet 1 swN Dec. 3, 1946. J, H, FRlDN 2,411,854

ARTICLE GONVEYER original Filed Aug. 2, 1940 5 sheets-sheet 2 l 24 v Q67 Dec. 3, 1946. J, HFRm'N 2,411,854

ARTICLE CONVEYER original Filed Aug. 2, 1940` 5 sheets-sheet 5 Ygm f ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 3, 1946 ARTICLE ooNvEYER John H. Fridn, Maplewood, N. J., assignor to Newark Engineering Company, Hillside, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Original application August 2, 1940, Serial No.

Divided and this application January 18, 1944, Serial No. 518,699

9 Claims.

Y This invention relates to an improved conveyer construction for transferring, from one point to another, articles of circular cross section. The present case is a division of my pending application Serial No. 349,850, led on August 2, 1940.

An object of the invention has been to provide an endless conveyer adapted to.receive articles of circular cross-section from a coating or printing machine or the like and transfer the same, without marring the surface of the article, to a point of desired disposition. InV achieving this purpose, the invention provides an endless conveyer member, preferably in the form of a chain, having a plurality of transversely extending pivot pins upon which are swivelly mounted a series of article receiving cups or buckets. The arrangement is such that the cups or buckets will be constantly maintained in a definite position, i. e. with their open tops facing upwardly and their bottoms down, as they are carried along by the movement of the conveyer member. This is accomplished automatically, by gravity, as a result of the swivelled mountingv of the cups.

A special feature of the invention is the formation of the article retaining cups or buckets in such a way that articles of circular cross-section will be retained thereby with only a few spaced points thereof in engagement with surfaces of the cups. In the application of the invention to a conveyer for articles such as glass ampules, the construction is such that the ampule will be supported by the edge of'its base and by a small shoulder engaging a point on the long neckof the ampule. This avoids any danger of marring any printed or decorative matter on the body of the ampule.

' In the operation of typical apparatus embodying the invention, the articles, after being printed upon or coated, are dropped one by one by gravity from a carrier associated with the printer into successive buckets or cups, above mentioned, carried by the endless conveyer means. The conveyer carries the articles at a predetermined, uniform speed through a drying zone, which may suitably involve an oven or similar enclosed,v drying chamber maintained lat a controlled temperature. In the course of such movement, the cups will be carried along a rather circuitous path but at all times they will be maintained with their open tops facing upwardly. The-arrangement is preferably such that the conveyer is advanced continuously, even though the printing or coating machine may be temporarily stopped. When the successive cups emerge from the drying zone, the printed matter orcoating--on the-sur.

Fig. 1 is an elevational View, somewhat schematic, of a printing mechanism and'an associated conveyer and dryer which may embody the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the printer, taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. l, and shows a portion of the conveyer associated with the printer.

3 is 'an enlarged view, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, showing an article carrier, forming part of the printer, and the associated conveyer.

Figli is a transverse sectional View taken the line 4 4 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail `showing in transverse section a modied conveyer cup.

Referring now to the drawings, the illustrative apparatus includes a printing unit which is generally designated l5 (Fig. 1). This printing unit is mounted on a pedestal I1 which encloses the power means for operating the equipment, in-

lalong cluding, in addition to the printing unit, a con-V veyer chain I8. The arrows shown on the conveyerchain indicate the direction of movement of thevariouscourses. The conveyer chain car-- ries the printed containers toand through a drying chamber i9 in whichv the containers are subjected to'a uniform and regulated drying temperature which maybe maintained in any convenient way, as by the circulation of heated air or the like, preferably under the control of thermostatic devices, not shown. After traversing a series of loops or slings withinv the drying chamber, the conveyer chain passes outwardly'at the opposite side of the chamber and then upwardly to a delivery table or unloading station- 20. 'Here the printed and dried containers are automatically removed' by dumping fromthe con'veyeL and may be suitably packed in cartons or the like by hand or by any appropriate automatic means. From 'the delivery table the conf. veyerf. chain. travels. into. the drying. .Qhambinpwardly along the adjacent end wall, then across the top and then downwardly along the opposite end Wall through which it is passed outwardly at a point near the bottom and returned to the printing unit through its supporting pedestal. The means for driving the conveying chain from within the pedestal will be hereinafter explained..

The printing unit (Fig. 2) is carried by a main frame comprising a vertically disposed web 2i having laterally extending iianges 22 and 23 around three sides and having similar flanges 24' of greater width at its base. A cover 24a, extending from the outer edge of flange 22 to the outer edge of flange 24, may be provided to enclose the driving mechanism, which will be later described. Near the bottom of the vertical web 2|- is a hollow boss 25 forming a socket to receive a reduced hub portion 26 of a boss 2l' at the lower end of an auxiliary frame member 28. This auxiliary frame is adapted to rock or pivot slightly by the turning of the hub portion 2S within the boss 25. Near its upper end the auxiliary frame 28 carries an integral sleeve 23 whichl extends through an aperture 36 in the web 2l, this aperture being of sufficient size to permit a slight rocking or pivotal movement of the auxiliary frame, as explained. Above the sleeve 29 the auxiliary frame is formed with an ear 3l having an aperture 32, slightly elongated in a circumferential direction, to receive a locking bolt 33 having screw-threaded engagement with the web 2l. The bolt 33 thus provides means for clamping the auxiliary frame in any adjusted position permitted by the construction. described. To effect the desired adjustment of the auxiliary frame, it is provided with a block S'l, swivelled to the frame. A screw 35, threaded in the block 3G, may be turned to shift the auxiliary frame about the axis of the hub 26 to the desired extent and the frame may then be clamped in itsv setv position by the tightening. of the bolt 33.

Within the sleeve 25 of the auxiliary frame there is journaled a shaft 38 (Fig. 2) to which is keyed, adjacent its righthand end, a. carrier member 39 which serves to support and convey the ampules or other articles to be printed. A clamping collar 4D may be provided to retain the carrier upon the shaft. This construction is such that the carrier' may be readily removed whenever it is desired to replace it by another carrier adapted for larger or'smaller articles.

The carrier is essentially a relatively broad, disc-like member having a series of recesses or pockets M (Fig. 3) at spaced' intervals in its periphery. Adjacent each of these recesses and on both faces of the carrier there is provided a pair of discs l2 freely rotatable upon studs i3Y mounted in the c arrier. These discs 132 are so arranged that their peripheries extend slightly beyond the surfaces defined by the recesses 4l. Accordingly, these discs serve to support the ampules or other articles in such a way as to prevent contact of their surfaces with the surfaces defining the recesses 15|. The outer periphery ofthe carrier is of generally cylindrical form, as

indicatedat d4, but in advancev of each of the recesses li! the outer surface of the carrier is inclined inwardly substantially toward the axis of the recess, as indicated at 45. This enables the carrier readily to pick up the articles, such as "ampules X, which are delivered to the machine by means of a chute et. As the lowermost ampule is'v picked up by one of the recesses 4I, the next ampule will roll along the adjacent surface 44 of.' the. carrier and. then down the inclined portion 45 into the next recess which is brought opposite the chute. The chute 45 may be supplied with the articles to be printed in any suitable way, either by hand or by automatic means. It is supported by means of a bracket il having a split collar 138 at its lower end adapted to surround and be clamped upon the sleeve 29 of the auxiliary frame. The arrangement is preferably such that the chute ll will be inclined slightly from front to rear (Fig. 3), i. e., downwardly toward the web 2 I, so as to cause the ampules to remain by gravity toward the rear of the chute.

As best shown in Fig. 4, a disc or plate 49 is provided between the carrier and the end of the sleeve 29, this disc being secured to the sleeve by means of a bracket 5B. The disc in turn carries an angle bracket 5l arranged to support a guide 52 which extends over the top of the carrier, Adjacent the lower end of the chute the guide 52 is curled upwardly, as indicated at 53 (Fig. 5), and at its opposite end 54 the guide extends adjacent to the printing station, to be later described. Another guide 55 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) is provided below the printing station, this guide having an opening or cut-away portion 5B in the region over which rolls the printed matter on the ampules. Preferably the connecting portions at the ends of the opening 55 are offset radially to a slight extent so as to lie outwardly of the inner surface of the guide. It Will be understood that the guide '55 serves to retain the ampules in the pockets dl and for this reason, after the ampules have been printed upon, it is necessary to guard against smearing of the ink. The

f lower` guide 55 is carried by a disc 5l secured to an arm or bracket 58' carried by a stationary shaft 59 extending through the hub 2S of the auxiliary frame and the boss 25 of the main frame. By shifting the bracket 58 axially of the shaft 59, adjustment may be made for ampules of different length. A setscrew 5t may be provided at the bottom of the bracket 53 for retaining thev latter in desired position on the shaft 59. At the top of the. disc '5l a laterally extending support 5l. is provided. This carries an adjustable bracket 52, which may be clamped in any adjusted position by a screw 53. The inner end of bracket 62 carries a exible spring finger Ed adapted to engage the outer ends of the ampules to press them lightly against the disc le as the ampules are carried into printing position. This insures the correct positioning of the ampules as they are be ing printed.

As the ampul'es with the printed impression thereon are carried beyond the lower end 55 of the guide 55, they are permitted to drop by gravity into a series of cups or buckets 65 carried by the conveyer chain i8, previously mentioned. These cups are freely supported by pins or rods 5l' formed as extensions of the roller supporting pivots for the links of the conveyer chain. Just beneath the carrier 39 the conveyer passes around a sprocket wheel 63, loosely mounted upon the previously described shaft 55. A collar 65 serves to retain the sprocket in. place. Each of the cups is provided with a weighted bottom 'i5 which. serves to maintain the cup in an upright position throughout its movement with the conv4 veyer chain. To reduce to a minimum the sagging of the cups due to the cantilever effect, the weighted portion of the bottom may, if desired, beV concentrated near the chain, as shown. at ltd. in. Fig. 5. At. its rear or inner end each cup is provided with av trough 'lll and at its outervend with a substantially vertical wall 12 having a shallow notch 13.

It will be understood that the conveyer chain is adapted to be driven in synchronism with the carrier 39, the arrangement being such that as an ampule is discharged from the carrier, one

of the cups 66 will be directly beneath the latter to receive the ampule. Due to the construction of the cup, a portion of the long tip of the ampule will engage the depression 13 while the periphery of the bottom of the ampule will engage veither the top of the pin 61 or the sloping Walls of the trough portion of the cup. As a result, none of the printed matter on the ampule will come in contact with any part of the cup and the danger of smearing the printed impression is eliminated.

The printing upon the ampules at the printing station is eifected by means of a soft, resilient transfer roller 14, (Fig. 3) formed of rubber or any composition commonly employed in inking rolls. It is adapted to receive an impression from one or more printing members (not shown) in the manner fully disclosed in said parent application. Roller 14 is driven at an appropriate speed in synchronism with the carrier 39. In dealing with relatively small ampules, of a diameter of less than one-half inch, the carrier may be operated continuously and the printing operation performed while the ampule is beingadvanced by the carrier. The peripheral speed of the roller M will be considerably faster than that of the carrier so that the ampule will be rotated and receive an impression at the printing station. When larger ampules or other containers are dealt with, it is preferable to operate the carrier intermittently, it being held stationary during the printing operation. However, regardless of whether the carrier is operated intermittently or continuously, the conveyer carrying the cups 65 may be advanced continuously in synchronized relation.

For the purpose of driving the printing devices and the conveyer chain i8, a motor (not shown) may be provided within the pedestal portion I1 of the printer. This may be connected by a chain |22 (Fig. 2) with a sprocket |23 secured to a driving shaft |24 for the printer. It mayalso be connected by suitable chains and sprockets (not shown) with a shaft |40 (Fig. 1) which carries a sprocket |4| by means of which the conveyer chain I8 is continuously advanced. The arrangement is preferably such that the conveyer chain will be advanced so long as the driving motor is in operation, regardless of whether or not the printer is in operation. This insures sub-A jecting all printed articles to the same drying conditions. The connections from the motor to the printer and conveyer are such that the cups 66 will be advanced at the same speed as the pockets 4| in the carrier, whenever the printer is operating, and the clutch for throwing the printer in and out of operation is such as to keep the carrier and conveyer properly synchronized. For further details as to the driving means, reference maybe had to said parent application.

In the operation of the machine, the ampules X may be supplied either automatically or by hand to the chute 46. When the printer is in operation, the ampules will be delivered one by one to the pockets of the carrier 39 and brought rst to the printing station, to receive an impression from the roller 14, and then to the end 65 of the lower guide 55 from which they drop into the cups or buckets 66 which are successively brought into position to receive the ampules as they are released by the guide. The conveyer chain IB carries the cups with their ampules along a circuitous path leading into, through and out of the dryer i9. Due to their weighted bottoms, the cups always remain with their open tops facing upwardly'until they reach the delivery or packing station 20 Where they may be tilted to discharge the ampules or the latter may be lifted from the cups.

While an illustrative machine embodying the various features of the present invention and certain modications have been disclosed in considerable detail, it will be understood that numerous other changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the various parts without departing from the general principles and scope of the invention. The terms and expressions used herein have been used as terms of description and not of limitation.

I claim:

1. In apparatus of the class described an endless conveyer comprising a chain, a plurality of pins projecting from said chain, and cups freely mounted on said pins, said cups having weighted bottoms to hold the same upright by gravity, each cup `having a trough-like portion adapted to receive the base of a container and a notched endplate adapted to support the container adjacent its opposite end, the arrangement being such that the container is held with the portion of its surface between the base and opposite end free and clear of the cup.

` 2. In apparatus of the class described an endless conveyer comprising a chain, a plurality of k'base of a container and a. notched end-plate adapted to support the container adjacent its opposite end, the arrangement being such that the container is held with the portion of its surface f between the base and opposite end free and clear ofthe cup.

3. In apparatus of the class described an endless conveyer comprising a chain, means for advancing said chain, a plurality of article receiving buckets swivellyrmounted on said chain, each vbucket having a bottom, side and end walls and bucket. having a bottom, side and end walls and an open top, weight means for holding each bucket with its open top facing upwardly throughout the movement of said chain, and each bucket having article supporting surfaces adapt- 'ed to engage articles of circular cross-section and of different dimensions at only a pair of longitudinally spaced points, said surfaces being arranged to retain said articles in definite endwise position with respect to the pocket.

5.' In apparatus .of the class described an endless conveyer comprising a chain, means for advancing said chain, a plurality of article receiving buckets swivelly mounted on said chain, each bucket having a bottom, side and end Walls and an open top, Weight means for holding each bucket With its open top facing upwardly throughout the movement. of said chain, and each bucket having article supporting surfac-es adapted to engage articles of circular cross-section only at points adjacent the ends ofsaid articles, said' surfaces being arranged to retain said articles in denite endvvise position with respect to the pocket.

5. In apparatus of the class described an endless conveyer comprising a chain, means for advancing said chain along a circuitous path, a plurality of article receiving receptacles swivelly mounted on said chain, each receptacle being held with its top and bottom in predetermined relation throughout its movement, and means for depositing an article by gravity in each of said receptacles as it passes a predetermined point, said receptacles being so constructed and arranged that said articles are received, engaged and supported by surfaces on the receptacles at only a plurality of Widely separated points as they are deposited in and conveyed by the receptacles, said surfaces being arranged to retain said articles in denite endwise position With respect to the receptacles.

7. In apparatus of the class described an endless conveyer comprising a chain, means for advancing said chain along a circuitous` path, a plurality of larticle receiving receptacles swivelly mounted on said chain, each receptacle being held with its top and bottom in predetermined relation throughout its movement, and means for depositing an article by gravity in each of said receptacles as it passes` a predetermined point, said article depositing means and said receptacles having surfaces thereon so constructed and arranged thatsaid articlesare engaged and supportedthereby at only a plurality of widely separated points as they are brought to, deposited in and conveyed by the receptacles, said surfaces on said receptacles being arranged to retain said articles in definite endvvise position With respect to the receptacles.

8. In apparatus of the class described an endless conveyer comprising a chain, means for advancing said chain along a circuitous path, a plu-v rality of article receiving receptacles swivelly mounted on said chain, each receptacle being held with its top and bottom in predetermined relation throughout its movement, and means for depositing an article by gravity in each of said receptacles as it passes a predetermined point, said receptacles having surfaces thereon so constructed and arranged that said articles are engaged and supported thereby only at points adjacent their ends as they are deposited in and conveyed by the receptacles, said surfaces being arranged to retain said articles in denite endvvise position with respect to the receptacles.

9. In apparatus of the class described a plurality of article conveying means, means for driving said conveying means in synchronism, one of said conveying means being arranged to deliver articles conveyed thereby by gravity to the other of said conveying means, said one of said conveying means being arranged to support said articles during at least a portion of the trav-el thereof with a substantial part of the surface of said articles extending completely around the same free and clear or" any engagement, and a plurality of swivelly mounted receptacles on said other conveying means arranged to receive and convey said articles, said receptacles having surfacesl 

